Help your dear ones kick the butt

Aruna Deshmukh, 43, a homemaker and mother of two, has been increasingly worried about her husband’s smoking. “Satish and I have been married for about 25 years, and even though he is not a heavy smoker, he is setting a wrong example for our teenage children who will naturally follow in his footsteps,” says Aruna, who has begun nagging her 54-year-old husband to kick his habit. On hearing of DNA’s Adopt A Smoker campaign, Aruna decided to sign up. “Satish has been an on and off smoker but has been smoking rather heavily recently,” she says. Her husband smokes about a pack a day, down by a four or five ever since Aruna began to counsel him.

Studies show that 52% of adults are exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) at home. Aruna’s worries for her children are valid too — the mean age for initiation into daily smoking as well as use of smokeless tobacco among users in the age group of 20-34 years is 17.9 years. Like Aruna, many dna readers have signed up the campaign to adopt smokers and develop creative ideas to motivate smokers to quit and then to support them to run the course.

TIPS
Make a list of the reasons for you to quit tobacco. Keep the list with you, preferably where you usually carry your tobacco.

When you lose your motivation and feel an intense urge for a drag of a cigarette, think of the list and the benefits of quitting.

If you go cold turkey, drink plenty of fruit juice the first three days. It will help flush the nicotine out of your system.

To help avoid weight gain, eat veggies and fruits. The temptation of candies will be there constantly, get a friend to help monitor your diet.

Consider yourself “tobacco free” only when you completely quit — one single re-use and you can become hooked again.

Practise deep breathing exercises when you have a craving. Tell people around you that you have quit tobacco.